I always wonder when people ask about this “atemi” question from a historical & logical perspective.

So “koryu-trained” members within a ruling military caste system, the bushi (samurai) who were documented to have sliced people open with swords for not showing them the proper respect - had any inhibitions within their unarmed training regimen for not punching people in the face or kicking them in the groin?

Ko-ryu Jujutsu Atemi-waza fell into 2 categories. Either used to soften someone up to execute a throw (most of the time) or is some rare ryu-ha used in conjunction with hidden weapons (like iron knuckles). It doesn't even remotely compare to modern boxing/kickboxing arts.

Think of Ko-ryu Atemi as a supplement to the grappling techniques.

Take Tomoe Nage, the Ko-ryu atemi would be "kick them in the groin and execute throw." Judo took out the "kick them in the groin" part in order to allow them to practice it safely. Doesn't mean their art suffers, kicking someone the groin isn't a hard skill. In fact you can argue they are better at executing the throw because they don't depend on the groin kick, which forces a better understanding of off balancing.